1. the crux or central point of a matter: "the nub of the problem lies elsewhere"
2. a small lump or protuberance: "he pressed down on the two nubs on top of the phone"
▪ a small chunk or nugget of metal or rock:"a nub of gold"
Word Originlate 16th century (denoting the innermost wrapping of the chrysalis in a silk cocoon): apparently a variant of dialect knub ‘protuberance’, itself either a variant of knob, or from Middle Low German knubbe (German Knubbe) ‘knob’.
